4 June 1957, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Like many American musicians of his generation, Ellis first took up the guitar at the age of seven, inspired by groups in the late 60s British blues rock invasion. While playing in rock bands, he took an increasing interest in the work of Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker and particularly in guitarists Freddie King, Buddy
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30 March 1948, Heswall, Cheshire, England. Holes family moved to Perth, Western Australia, when he was four years old. The music of the Rolling Stones inspired him to pick up the guitar, and through them he discovered Muddy Waters and Howlin Wolf. He had been playing for some 10 years before he took up slide guitar. A broken little finger caused him to play over
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David William Kearney, 8 September 1939, Houston, Texas, USA. A penchant for acrobatics disguises Shortys real talent as a blues guitarist. He grew up in Kissimmee, Florida, where his uncle Willie Quarterman introduced him to the guitar. At 17 he was playing in the house band at Tampas Club Royal, where he first acquired his stage name. A year later, he went to C
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1957, Milwaukee, USA. Coming from a long line of musicians, Burks was taught to play the guitar at an early age by his bass playing father. He began playing live at the age of six and by his teens was playing regularly in his fathers Bradley Ferry Country Club in Camden. The closure of the club in the mid-80s forced Burks to reassess his musical career, and he found wo
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Chester, New York, USA, d. 17 July 2007, Sugar Loaf, New York, USA. Blues guitarist and singer Bill Perry grew up in a home dominated by music where his grandfather played organ for the local church and his mother was a percussionist. However, he took more interest in his fathers records of Kenny Burrells guitar playing, and he started to learn the guitar himself
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Los Angeles, California, USA. Davies had her first guitar at the age of 12 and when Bluesbreakers With Eric Clapton, was released in 1965, she set out to memorize all of Claptons solos. Intrigued by the names of black blues artists mentioned in his interviews, she discovered the records of Freddie King, Otis Rush and Gatemouth Brown. Her first live gigs were in a club
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31 August 1962, New York City, New York, USA. Connor was raised in Worcester, Massachusetts and began playing guitar while still a small child. Encouraged by her mother, a blues enthusiast, her guitar playing skills proved to be exceptional and in her teenage years she frequently sat in with visiting blues artists. By the mid-80s she had relocated to Chicago where she contin
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19 May 1953, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Raised in Washington, DC, blues rock guitarist Thackery is a raw live player who has earned favourable comparisons to Stevie Ray Vaughan. With Mark Wenner he formed the blues-based Nighthawks in 1972, recording 20 albums over 15 years and touring extensively. Tired of the endless touring schedule, Thackery left the band in 1987 and
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17 November 1967, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA. Benoit started out playing classic rock cover versions in local bands. A gifted young guitarist, he was satisfied with this kind of music until a friend played him a copy of a Buddy Guy record. His musical world turned upside-down, Benoit set about recreating Guys deep-rooted emotion, adopting his style and researching mor
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3 October 1956, Portsmouth, Virginia, USA. Blues guitarist Coleman eschewed early stardom, either by accident or fate. She raised a daughter and supported her family with jobs as a nurse and electrician well before recognition as a major blues artist. It is perhaps partly due to her down-to-earth quality that she has earned such a massive crossover following. The early inspi
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Bluesy hard rock is not usually associated with American Indians, but bands such as Indigenous prove to be an anomaly. Originating from the Nakota Sioux Nation, the members of Indigenous were raised on the Yankton Indian Reservation in South Dakota, USA, and include two brothers, Mato Nanji (vocals/guitar) and Pte (bass), a sister, Wandbi (drums), plus a cousin, Horse (percussi
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